Building Permits Inch Higher in October while Housing Starts Dip
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau recently announced the following new residential construction statistics for October 2014.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau recently announced the following new residential construction statistics for October 2014.
Building Permits
Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,080,000. This is 4.8 percent (±1.3 percent) above the revised September rate of 1,031,000 and is 1.2 percent (±1.2 percent) above the October 2013 estimate of 1,067,000. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 640,000; this is 1.4 percent (±1.2 percent) above the revised September figure of 631,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 406,000 in October.
Housing Starts
Privately owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,009,000. This is 2.8 percent (±10.0 percent) below the revised September estimate of 1,038,000, but is 7.8 percent (±8.7 percent) above the October 2013 rate of 936,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 696,000; this is 4.2 percent (±8.8 percent) above the revised September figure of 668,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 300,000.
Housing Completions
Privately owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 881,000. This is 8.8 percent (±14.7 percent) below the revised September estimate of 966,000, but is 8.1 percent (±13.0 percent) above the October 2013 rate of 815,000. Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 585,000; this is 7.4 percent (±9.5 percent) below the revised September rate of 632,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 289,000.
New Residential Construction data for November 2014 will be released on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, at 8:30 A.M. EST. Beginning with the release of the January 2015 data on February 18, 2015, the building permit data will reflect a small increase in the universe of permit-issuing places and will be labeled as the 2014 Universe. These changes will have no effect on the estimates of new housing starts and completions because the increase in the permit universe is offset by a decrease in the universe of areas where permits are not required.
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